151. Judge Wyndham’s Oak
A timeless scene is evoked by an ancient Dorset oak.
In a field just beyond St Nicholas’s churchyard, one of the oldest oaks in England can be seen. It is named after a local lad, Hugh Wyndham – a judge whose career spanned Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the reign of Charles II – who is said to have enjoyed sitting under its canopy. The tree could be 1,000 years old; its crown is now smaller, and its girth larger, than they would have been in Wyndham’s time.
I have known this tree for many years, and have been so struck by it, I wrote a blog post about it back in 2011. You can read it here.
Species details
Pedunculate oak
Quercus robur
Where to find it
St Nicholas, Church Road, Silton, Gillingham SP8 5PR
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A date in Dorset
Next Wednesday, I shall be giving a talk about my book Tree Hunting at the Grosvenor Arms in Shaftesbury in conjunction with the lovely FOLDE Dorset bookshop. Judge Wyndham’s Oak will be among the trees I’ll be talking about.
He was a Fire Judge in the City of London following the Great Fire of London in 1666. His portrait is in the Guildhall Art Gallery and is the oldest painting in the entire collection.